Gossip

Say what you want to about the paparazzi, but if were not for their tireless efforts, the rest of America would never get to see that even famous singers can be just as down to earth as the rest of us. Photographers out on the left coast caught sight of singer LeAnn Rimes and actor husband Eddie Cibrian as they cruised with a group of friends to grab a cold beer and enjoy a warm California Sunday afternoon. More pics

Who needs two hands on the handlebars? Certainly not David Beckham, who was photographed by Hollywood paparazzi on his custom motorcycle recently in Mailbu California checking his cell phone in traffic. The 37 year old dad, who’s wife, Victoria, gave birth last year to their infant daughter Harper was reportedly checking his text messages, but that’s not clear from the photograph. What is evident is Beckham is violating California (as well as his native Austrailian) road rules by using a hand held mobile device while operating a motorized vehicle. But, we won’t tell if you don’t.

have you ever checked your cell phone while operating a motorcycle? Take the poll and confess…

Wynonna Judd‘s husband and drummer Michael Scott “Cactus” Moser‘s left leg was amputated above the knee following a motorcycle accident on Saturday in South Dakota. According to published reports the couple was riding separate motorcycles on US Hwy 16 near Deadwood SD when Moser crossed the center line and rammed into the side of Chevy Malibu traveling in the opposite direction.

Judd was riding just ahead of Moser and was not involved in the accident.

The leg was severed at the scene and doctors in Rapid City performed the surgery. He also underwent surgery to his hand.

Moser was cited for crossing the center line and not having a license to operate a motorcycle.

In a statement posted at Wynonna.com, the couple expresses their appreciation for “all of the quick medical and police responders as well as the hospital staff and well-wishes from family, friends and fans.” Judd said, “Cactus is a champion. I love him deeply and I will not leave his side,” she said in a statement Saturday.

The couple were married in June at Judd’s Nashville home. Judd has canceled her concerts for the next week as a result of the accident.

Admittedly we didn’t do a lot of research into this, but last night at an auction in Texas, the official 1972 divorce papers between Elvis and Pricilla Presley hidden away for nearly 20 years, came to the block and were purchased by an unnamed buyer for 8,963.

The 12-page agreement signed by both Elvis and Pricilla, granted Priscilla ownership of a 1971 Mercedes Benz, a ’69 Cadillac El Dorado and a ’71 Harley-Davidson motorcycle in addition to $100,000 in cash and half the income from the sale of their three houses in California.

There’s one thing in all this we can’t help but wonder about. Where is that bike? If you know, leave a comment. We’d like to talk to the current owner.

The King split with Pricilla in 1972. 4 short years later, he was dead.

Recuperating in the hospital with a busted spleen, Steve Butler probably feels a little stupid right now. Earlier this week, Butler was in Australia training for an upcoming show at Sexpo, the world’s largest Health, Sexuality and Lifestyle exhibition, when porn star Jessica Drake, and her television cameras showed up. Butler is a stunt rider in the Quick-Fix Globe of Death. Up to this point, everything is going good, and then WHAM! Butler spots Drake, and the blood leaves the brain rushing downwards to fill his…uh..well, you know…leaving his poor brain starved of oxygen, resulting in a case of “Watch this shit” syndrome.

Manager and team owner, Gavin Walker put it this way, “As soon as he saw the cameras and Jessica Drake he started showing off and doing tricks he wouldn’t normally do. She is pretty hot.”

According to reports, Butler had previously damaged the spleen in an earlier accident and the intense G-forces of the globe and some high leaps on the HD Sportster finished the job. The spleen, and his ego had to be removed in an emergency operation at Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Actually, we’re just joking about the ego thing. It’s bruised, but intact.

According to the team owner, these type of spleen injuries are common. “A lot of motorbike riders lose them.”

Drake recently appeared in the latest 90 minute episode of the FX drama “Sons of Anarchy.” Fortunately, nobody was hurt in the filming of that show…at least not in real life.

There was no mention of the incident on Drakes official Twitter feed. The only reference was Sunday when she posted, “Yesterday was amazing, rode Harleys everywhere with a stunt team, drove a speedboat, & ate BBQ..”

Ben Franklin said, “Believe only half of what you see and none of what you hear.”

Advice that’s well worth heeding when it comes to celebrities and rumors of their motorcycle accidents.

Yesterday, August 26th, the blogsphere was all abuzz about Tom Cruise wrecking some teenage kid’s sport bike while showing off his “stunt” skills in Los Angeles. The report said Cruise wasn’t injured and the teen was so pumped that Cruise wrecked his bike, he declined the actor’s offer to buy the kid a new bike and only requested that he “autograph” the crumpled remains.

Later in the day the website “Gossip Cop” busted that rumor. This is the second such “Cruise wrecks” rumor this year. This past spring, HollywoodLife reported that Cruise was in a serious wreck and required medical attention.

We can only assume the tabloids who rush to report every rumor they hear about Cruise and other celebrity motorcycle accidents are assuming that at some point the celebrity will wreck and they can claim they knew it was going to happen, eventually.

Nothing says I Love You and I forgive you for those naked pictures quite like a new set of wheels and according to the Hollywood tabloids Brad Pitt surprised his megastar actress life partner, Angelina Jolie with a new motorcycle on her 35th birthday.

We don’t know any details about the bike, and even Angelina says she doesn’t know much about her present. “I’m not sure what cc (size) it is. But I can tell you it’s a proper bike and it’s powerful. Brad’s a really good teacher – he’s really patient. I’m very impatient so I can wreck a bike if I’m not careful.”

For fans who need reminding, Jolie’s motorcycle experience has been mostly onscreen in Tomb Raider and in her newest movie Salt.

Obviously Brad isn’t letting the recently surfaced nude photos of Angelina throw him off his romance game. The tabloids are saying that the photos were taken in 1999 by a friend and show her with S&M props, black tape over her nipples and a dog collar around her neck. Others show her during a 14-hour heroin-smoking bender. Additional photos are contained in an unauthorized biography by Andrew Morton that is due for release in August 2010.

So that makes Brad’s birthday gift of a motorcycle all the more impressive. It says “darling, screw the tabloid paparazzi, let’s ride!”

A few weeks ago the website Motoblog.it snagged a few pictures of the new, never before seen Ducati Mega Monster motorcycle. Reports have surfaced that Ducati has shown a Mega Monster prototype to a consumer research panel in SoCal in June 2010.

As in the case of the lost Apple IPhone, it does seem a little odd that the test riders in these photos that appear to be snapped from a passing vehicle are wearing Ducati branded jackets. Maybe the Italians are not that adept at keeping things secret?

More likely someone gave the Motoblog a heads up about the secret test ride so these photos would “leak” to the world’s motorcycle press.

England’s Motorcycle News ran this photo on it’s cover and we feel pretty sure they didn’t sneak in the

cover of August Motorcycle News

plant and capture it.

But, who knows, maybe the Brits have deeper pockets and can bribe the employees at Ducati. With the abundance of cell phone camera’s today, it’s not difficult to snap a shot of top secret stuff and perhaps score a few dollars for your trouble.

The Mega Monster (we don’t know what it will be called when it is released) resembles a V-Max with the twin air scoops in the front.

The rear seat is lowered too, by moving the exhaust and the rear shock which gives the bike a squat that also resembles a ‘Busa. Maybe the Duck is going racing?

On Motorcycle.com the noise is that the new bike will probably feature the Multistrada’s liquid-cooled 1198cc V-Twin. This Testastretta Evoluzione has radically altered valve overlap compared to the 1198 superbike’s configuration, making the engine much more responsive at lower revs – perfectly appropriate for a muscle cruiser meant to compete with a Vmax or Harley-Davidson V-Rod Muscle.

The world press is calling this a Ducati cruiser, but we wouldn’t go that far, but it’s closer to a cruiser than anything else Ducati produces.

You might remember Gerald Butler as the paramour of Friends” actress Jennifer Anniston. Or not. If you’re not a celebrity hound, that tidbit of gossip may have passed you by, as it did us. But, a new movie starring Butler has him wearing a 80’s mullet and riding a Harley-Davidson so it perked our antenna straight up.

Machine Gun Preacher” is based on the true story of Sam Childers, a missionary in southern Sudan who really is referred to as the machine gun preacher and is a former outlaw 1% club member and drug dealer from Pennsylvania who became a member of the Assembly of God church and later visited Sudan.

While in Africa, he witnessed the work of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a militant group in northern Uganda and southern Sudan that captured children and forced them to be child soldiers and sex slaves.

Butler will play the role of Childers in the film, which is directed by “Kite Runner” and “Monster’s Ball” director Marc Forster.

Michelle Monaghan (“Made of Honor,” “Gone Baby Gone”) will play the role of Childers’ wife Lynn.

Shooting is taking place in and around the Detroit area, including the Heartside Mobile Home park and local elementary school.

Dean McDermott,Reality TV Star of the Oxygen Network show ‘Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood’, is recovering after a wreck on a dirt bike put him in the ICU in the hospital with a punctured lung July 1st. McDermott is out of ICU and according to his recent updates on Twitter.

On July 4th Dean posted, “I’m healing, slowly Ill be doing rehab for a while I messed a few things up when I crashed.”

This is the second motorcycle accident that has landed McDermott in the hospital. He’s promising his actress wife that he’ll give up motorcycle riding for good. He posted, “3 stitches in my right butt cheek where a stone got imbedded. Let’s just say, I won’t be dirt biking anymore.”

McDermott says he doesn’t know how the accident happened, and all he knows is he smashed his chest into the bars as he flew over the front of the bike.

According to his doctors, McDermott is expected to make a full recovery, although they say he probably won’t be any better at dirt bike riding after he gets out.